Leaf-fall was upon the clans. It wasn't long before sundown, and chattering squirrels bickered over the best nuts for their Leafbare store. It seemed peaceful, with the bright reds and oranges of fall, a whispering wind stirring the trees, bringing leaves spiraling down to the brittle undergrowth. Yet for Tempeststar these things were muted. The colors barely called him, the wind barely touched him. All he could hear was the pounding of the blood in his head and ears. He crouched in the thick, browning undergrowth, his eyes narrowed, waiting.

He still could not believe he was doing this, no matter how much he tried to convince himself it was right, he knew very well it wasn't. What he was about to do, if he were found out, would bring more punishment on his clan than even now it suffered. And not just from the other clans. The gray tom couldn't help but glance up once more at the faded blue sky, searching for the stars. In a way he wondered if he should even care anymore, after all, wasn't Starclan supposed to watch over the clans and send them aid? No, he would not consider the dream to be aid.

The dream had started out normally, just as it always did, reliving his leader ceremony. In many ways, Tempeststar had always been proud of how he had served his clan, and becoming leader was the ultimate achievement. But instead of all the Starclan warriors fading away after giving him his nine lives, one stayed. Curious, Tempeststar had stepped forward, and found that the cat standing in the shadows was someone new, someone he had never seen before. The cat stepped forward himself, revealing his dark gray tabby fur and piercing amber eyes.

"Greetings Tempeststar. I am Tidestar. I have come to give you a warning. Soon, a great trouble will come upon Riverclan, trouble unlike you have faced for generations. You must be ready to lead them. But, it will not be as easy as it would seem, your choices will be difficult, and may go against everything you have known since you were a kit. But if Riverclan is to survive, you must make the right choice. Choose well."

The dream had at first been unsettling, but Tempeststar soon put it off as having eaten bad prey. After all it was the medicine cats themselves who received omens, not leaders. Not usually.

Several days later it began. One by one his clan began to succumb to a strange illness. At first Cricketleaf had little difficulty in treating his fellow clanmates, until he got sick as well. All Tempeststar could do was watch as his friend slowly faded from this world. The Riverclan leader had had no choice, he had gone and sought help, willing to allow showing some weakness if his friend were to survive.

First he went to Skystar in Windclan, calmly asking for some herbs and even perhaps a visit from Windclan's medicine cat. Skystar gently refused, all cunning smiles, saying that her medicine cat's presence was required in her clan. Tempeststar knew otherwise, as Heatherlight was sunning herself and playing with a group of kits. With Adderstar in Shadowclan it was the same rejection. But Cedarstar was the worst. The Thunderclan leader had two full-fledged medicine cats, Brackenflame and Laurelsky, but Cedarstar only smirked and spoke belittlingly in response to Tempeststar's request.

"Is your clan weak? Do you need us to feed you like kits? Well Tempeststar, unless you have something in exchange, I'm sure you can manage on your own."

Disgraced, Tempeststar returned to his clan. A few sunrises later, Cricketleaf died, leaving Riverclan without a medicine cat, and with many sick members. Now the death toll had risen to six cats. One of which was Tempeststar's mate. At that thought anger and despair raced through Tempeststar's mind and his muscles tensed. Oh Lilypetal…. Her life so quickly extinguished. Now a burning necessity drove him. He had formulated a plan, a way to make sure his clan could be cared for. By whatever means necessary.

A crunching sound drew the gray tabby tom's attention. Perking his ears, he checked to make sure he was downwind of the sound, and then rose slightly from his hiding place to see who it was. A slender young she-cat padded along the forest floor, the browns and gingers of her pelt matching the colors of the forest, except for her blue-green eyes.

Laurelsky.

Once again Tempeststar's resolve wavered, but it was too late. The she-cat froze, her fur fluffing up, as she opened her mouth to scent the air. He heard her hiss, "Fox."

The leader had to smile at the irony. Oh yes, it was foxes, but not the type she would expect. Tempeststar slinked through the undergrowth until he got to a tree, and then he rose and padded around, revealing himself to the medicine cat.

"Hello Laurelsky."

The Thunderclan she-cat started, and she turned to see who had spoken. Confusion clouded her eyes, and her ears went back slightly.

"T-tempeststar? W-What are you doing here? This is Thunderclan territory. Do you want to see Cedarstar?"

The nervousness in her voice was obvious. Most likely because of the fact that he was covered with the scent of fox, and smelled nothing of Riverclan. With the barest of smiles he approached to within a few pawsteps of her.

"No Laurelsky, I'm here for you."